Anyone own a Fiat 124 Spider?
Discussion
Cino said:
I am thinking of getting a 124 and would be interested to know owners experiences of them. Fiats don't have the best reliability record but I believe that much of the 124 is shared with the Mazda MX5.
You need to have a good look underneath.The suspension subframes can corrode very badly.
The 1.4cc engine is nice, but it's the multi air unit which doesn't like being left unused.
The oil can drain out of the multi air block and cause non start.
Consider the Abarth version, yes it's more money, but I reckon they'll hold on to their value really well.
Parts availability seems pretty poor at the moment, many owners cars being off the road for months for parts that are on “back order”. I’ve been waiting over three months now for a seat base for example. Lights, body panels etc are like gold dust.
If the car has LED headlights check the washers work (MOT fail). Nozzles block up or worse case the mechanism fails and needs replacing (see above).
Windows regulators can fail (Mazda part).
Cambelts will be over due by now if not already changed even on low mileage examples so look for evidence it’s been done. Budget £500-600 from an independent garage if it needs doing.
Check the leading edge of the soft top and the roll over hoops as the roof can rub on the hoops and mark them and also more importantly rub through the roof fabric. Mazda sometimes change the roof for ND MX5 owners under warranty but obviously any 124 is now well out of warranty. You can buy wedges cheaply that will stop the rubbing.
If anything it’s the Mazda parts that will let you down rather than the Fiat bits.
Mines an Abarth version. It’s loud (a bit too loud for me), enough power to be fun and be able to use all of it without being anti-social (noise aside). Can get high 40s mpg on a run. I find steering very numb with little feel which is a big disappointment for me.
If the car has LED headlights check the washers work (MOT fail). Nozzles block up or worse case the mechanism fails and needs replacing (see above).
Windows regulators can fail (Mazda part).
Cambelts will be over due by now if not already changed even on low mileage examples so look for evidence it’s been done. Budget £500-600 from an independent garage if it needs doing.
Check the leading edge of the soft top and the roll over hoops as the roof can rub on the hoops and mark them and also more importantly rub through the roof fabric. Mazda sometimes change the roof for ND MX5 owners under warranty but obviously any 124 is now well out of warranty. You can buy wedges cheaply that will stop the rubbing.
If anything it’s the Mazda parts that will let you down rather than the Fiat bits.
Mines an Abarth version. It’s loud (a bit too loud for me), enough power to be fun and be able to use all of it without being anti-social (noise aside). Can get high 40s mpg on a run. I find steering very numb with little feel which is a big disappointment for me.
Edited by demic on Wednesday 7th August 21:28
Whilst I’ve never owned one, I did rent this Abarth version in Lanzarote for a few days back in February.
An absolutely great car that sounded wonderful with the Monza exhaust. This car had done about 60K Km was approximately 6 years old and felt absolutely fine.
I’d say these could be a very shrewd long term purchase.
Forgot to mention the rear hub bushes can fail prematurely (Mazda part). The are ridiculously expensive to replace as you can’t get just the bushes from Mazda/Fiat you have to buy the complete hub. Luckily there are alternatives available (aftermarket bushes) to be able to do it cheaper.
Check the MOT history for any advisories relating to play in the the rear bushes.
Check the MOT history for any advisories relating to play in the the rear bushes.
We've owned a 124 Spider Abarth from new (March 2017) and absolutely loved it. Test drove the MX-5 equvalent and much preferred the drive, ride and looks of the Abarth. I think fewer than 2,000 were sold over here (NZ) and ours was one of the first. It took the dealer and Fiat ages to get the SatNav to work properly, eventually a complete new unit solved that! Only other problem until recently was the passenger side window regulator breaking (a Mazda part), out of warranty and had to come from Italy.
The car is great fun to drive and comfortable for long trips. The roof goes up and down manually with the "one clip" Mazda fastening, so much quicker and easier than powered soft tops. Overall fuel consumption just over 40mpg, which includes town use, cruising and "spirited" driving over mountain passes and on track experiences. The exhaust here is not the loud version, so quite refined even in "Sport" mode, which I use all the time. It's rare and unusual, so attracts a lot of attention and questions whenever we're out and about in it.
Parts availability, as mentioned above, is poor - perhaps partly because there are so few of them here - and even routine service items often have to be ordered from Italy.
At about 140,000 km, two rear suspension bushes caused it to fail the annual inspection - a different bush on each side. Our Fiat dealer said the bushes weren't available separately and said a new suspension housing was the only option. Cost was estimated at $7,500NZD per side, plus tax, plus about $1,000 for fitting - about half the value of the car. Our local garage sourced Mazda bushes from Australia and replaced all four at a total cost of $1,100NZD.
The car is off the road at the moment as, at 145,000km, the engine lost power and the engine check light came on. Initial investigation revealed no compression at all on cylinder 3. Further investigation found burnt exhaust valves on cylinder 3 and one other with severe carbon build up on all the exhaust valves. The dealer has no idea what has caused the carbon build up but says detonation caused the valves to burn. Cost for the investigation, valve replacement and putting the engine back together again is about $1,500NZD for parts (genuine Fiat/Abarth parts ordered from a firm in the UK at about half the price they would be from Fiat NZ) plus around $7,500NZD for labour and "engineering" costs
Some of the parts have to come from Italy with a lead time of about 5 weeks, plus the time for shipping from the UK to NZ 
Would it be a surprise if I said I was falling out of love with the car?
The car is great fun to drive and comfortable for long trips. The roof goes up and down manually with the "one clip" Mazda fastening, so much quicker and easier than powered soft tops. Overall fuel consumption just over 40mpg, which includes town use, cruising and "spirited" driving over mountain passes and on track experiences. The exhaust here is not the loud version, so quite refined even in "Sport" mode, which I use all the time. It's rare and unusual, so attracts a lot of attention and questions whenever we're out and about in it.
Parts availability, as mentioned above, is poor - perhaps partly because there are so few of them here - and even routine service items often have to be ordered from Italy.
At about 140,000 km, two rear suspension bushes caused it to fail the annual inspection - a different bush on each side. Our Fiat dealer said the bushes weren't available separately and said a new suspension housing was the only option. Cost was estimated at $7,500NZD per side, plus tax, plus about $1,000 for fitting - about half the value of the car. Our local garage sourced Mazda bushes from Australia and replaced all four at a total cost of $1,100NZD.
The car is off the road at the moment as, at 145,000km, the engine lost power and the engine check light came on. Initial investigation revealed no compression at all on cylinder 3. Further investigation found burnt exhaust valves on cylinder 3 and one other with severe carbon build up on all the exhaust valves. The dealer has no idea what has caused the carbon build up but says detonation caused the valves to burn. Cost for the investigation, valve replacement and putting the engine back together again is about $1,500NZD for parts (genuine Fiat/Abarth parts ordered from a firm in the UK at about half the price they would be from Fiat NZ) plus around $7,500NZD for labour and "engineering" costs
Some of the parts have to come from Italy with a lead time of about 5 weeks, plus the time for shipping from the UK to NZ Would it be a surprise if I said I was falling out of love with the car?
Good to hear all the MX-5 issues have carried over 
Parts availability can be difficult, I’ve been waiting months for a front grill for one. As mentioned, if you’re smart you can buy the Mazda equivalent parts for less where applicable . I needed to replace the active bonnet actuators and they were half the price from MX5parts compared to Fiat .
Parts availability can be difficult, I’ve been waiting months for a front grill for one. As mentioned, if you’re smart you can buy the Mazda equivalent parts for less where applicable . I needed to replace the active bonnet actuators and they were half the price from MX5parts compared to Fiat .
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